


There Was That One Time

by thatsoddlyromantic



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, Feelings Realization, Hook-Up, House Party, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Missing Scene, Song Lyrics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-03 06:18:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13335243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatsoddlyromantic/pseuds/thatsoddlyromantic
Summary: The Bellas throw one last party before graduation, Beca puts together a mix of songs that they’ve all chosen, and feelings surface in an unexpected way.(Inspired by *that* comment Chloe made in PP3.)





	There Was That One Time

**Author's Note:**

> After recently watching PP3 (twice) and rewatching the first two movies, I couldn’t resist writing some Bechloe! So this happened. While it’s inspired by Chloe’s comment in the third movie, it’s set during PP2, meaning you don’t need to have seen PP3 to enjoy it ;)

 

> _“Well, there was that one time.”_

It had happened in those final months when they were still the Barden Bellas, not too long before graduation. The group knew that after competing at Worlds, it wouldn’t be long until they went their separate ways since most of them (save for Emily) were graduating from Barden University this year, going out into the world to pursue careers that didn’t involve making music with their mouths. Even Chloe, who had admittedly failed Russian lit three times just so she could stay a part of the Bellas, was finally ready to move on. Granted, Chloe wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted to do with her life. She’d considered everything from becoming an exotic dancer to teaching music in some third-world country to even applying for vet school - she had always loved animals. But since the girls she’d come to consider a family over the past few years would be leaving Barden, she decided now was her time to do so as well. So, Chloe had suggested that all the seniors get together for one last hurrah as Bellas before donning their caps and gowns. The other girls eagerly agreed, wanting to make the most of what little time they had left together.

They decided to throw the party at the Bellas house, just for the sentimentality of it. The place was decked out in blue and white streamers and balloons (Bellas colours, naturally) and a buffet style table of food and drinks had been set up in one corner of the room. There was even a giant cake that Jessica or Ashley (they still weren’t entirely sure who was who) had gotten custom made for the occasion. It was a vanilla cake with the Bellas logo in the centre, with swirly icing letters above and below the logo that exclaimed “Happy graduation, Bellas in blue!” (The cake had actually been supposed to say “happy graduation, Bellas!” in blue icing, but the baker had somehow gotten confused.) On another table there was a stack of different party games, such as Taboo and Cards Against Humanity, that were meant to lighten the mood if need be. And of course, there was music playing. Loudly.

* * *

 

As co-captain of the group, Chloe had asked Beca to create a special mix for the event. Beca was excited to take the task on, deciding that she would make it extra special by asking each of the Bellas to contribute a song to her mix. It didn’t even have to be a song from one of their setlists, she’d told them, just any song that made them have good memories of the group in some way. Beca realized how cheesy her idea sounded, but she knew that it was perfect - and would make for one sweet mix. Besides, Chloe would love it. That Beca was sure of.

“I think “Wrecking Ball” was a pretty memorable one,” Fat Amy had quipped when Beca asked her to pick a song.

“Dude! Seriously?!” Beca asked incredulously, shocked at her friend’s choice. Just hearing the song title gave her flashbacks to that infamous performance, which resulted in the audience seeing way more of Fat Amy than they ever planned on.

“Relax, Beca, it was only a joke!” Fat Amy exclaimed. She seemed deep in thought as she tried to think of a better song choice. “How about that one we did with all the fire, and the baton twirling?”

Beca gave her a death stare.

“You can’t be serious.”

“What?” Fat Amy asked innocently. “I had a solo! And we got to wear those sexy gold tracksuits, and...” Fat Amy trailed off mid sentence, remembering how their performance had crashed and burned - literally. “Oh yeah. Guess that was kind of a bad one too.”

Beca sighed.

Finally Fat Amy had ended up going with “Turn the Beat Around” as her song, her reasoning being that it was her first solo. Beca could work with that.

The songs her fellow Bellas had chosen for the mix brought up all kinds of memories from the past few years. Beca was surprised when Chloe had instantly picked “Cups”, quirking an eyebrow as she questioned the redhead’s fondness for her audition song.

“Are you sure that’s the song you want, Chlo?”

Chloe nodded.

“Totally. I mean, it’s how you became part of the Bellas!”

Beca never imagined that her spur of the moment decision to grab a yellow plastic cup and use it in her audition would leave such an impact. But then she remembered the way that Chloe had smiled at her after she finished singing, positively beaming from her seat beside Aubrey in the auditorium, and suddenly her choice didn’t seem like much of a surprise at all.

Beca sat in front of her laptop with her headphones on, totally in her element. Her hands skillfully danced over the keys as she worked on creating her mix for the Bellas, which would be the biggest mash up she’d ever made. As she played with the existing arrangements, however - dropping in new backbeats and allowing the songs to seamlessly blend together - she realized something was missing. She hadn’t added a song of her own into the mix yet. Beca closed her eyes and lay back on the bed, headphones still on. She thought back to all her performances with the Bellas, all the times they’d hung out together both at rehearsal and outside of their scheduled practices.

While there were so many memorable moments that came to mind, and dozens of songs that accompanied them, one memory stood out to Beca above the rest. She sat up again, heart racing as she searched through her extensive music library for the track she knew she wanted. It took a moment, but the song finally popped up. Beca copied the file and imported it into her mix, hoping that it would flow well with the rest of the songs. Backing the mix up to the song that came just before the one she’d added so that she could hear what the transition sounded like, Beca pressed play once more. Sure enough, as one song was ending, echoes of the new song’s chorus began. Beca smiled. She played around with the arrangement a little more until she was satisfied, letting her mix play through.

 _Perfect,_ she thought. Now all that was left was for a certain redhead to notice her song choice.

* * *

 

A few drinks and heartfelt speeches later, the Bellas farewell celebration was in full swing. Jessica, Ashley, and Flo were involved in a lively game of Taboo, while Stacie was drunkenly singing along to all the songs that were playing - whether she knew the words or not. Fat Amy was helping herself to a gigantic piece of cake, Cynthia Rose was doing what looked like a dance for Stacie, and Lilly was... somewhere. (They’d learned not to question the mostly silent girl’s whereabouts. She’d show up again eventually.) Chloe sat on the couch and took a sip from her red plastic cup, watching as everyone around her enjoyed the party. She was having fun too, of course, but as she looked around at all her friends - no, her _family_ \- it hit her once again just how much she was going to miss all of them after graduation had happened and Worlds was over.

“You okay, Chlo?” Beca asked, plastic cup in hand as she sat on the couch beside her friend.

“Yeah... I’m good,” Chloe managed with a small smile, trying not to cry. “It’s just a lot of emotions, you know?”

Beca nodded.

_“When I’m gone, when I’m gone, you’re gonna miss me when I’m gone.”_

Chloe took another drink before she set her cup down, instantly recognizing the remixed song that was currently playing. It made her think about when they’d sang it around the fire, the lyrics feeling bittersweet as they hit home. She would miss the Bellas when she was gone. All of them... especially Beca. The two co-captains had grown quite close together over the course of their time at Barden, becoming “fast friends” just as Chloe predicted they would while they helped lead the Bellas to victory. And yet sometimes there were moments shared between them, however fleeting, that felt as if they could lead to something more. It was a thought Chloe tried not to dwell on too much, but she’d be lying if she said the idea of hooking up with Beca hadn’t crossed her mind. One time she’d even had a dream about it. _Not that it was ever going to happen, of course._

Just then the song changed again, segueing into the instrumentals of a more uptempo electronic pop song. _Wait a second._ The song sounded oddly familiar to Chloe, but she couldn’t quite place it. Then, echoes of the chorus flooded the room.

 _“I’m bulletproof, nothing to lose, fire away, fire away,”_ Sia sang out. _“Ricochet, you take your aim, fire away, fire away.”_

All of a sudden, Chloe froze as her eyes went wide with realization. It was “Titanium”. Out of all the songs Beca Mitchell could have picked, she had chosen “Titanium” - the same song they sang an impromptu duet of in the shower when Chloe was trying to convince her to try out for the Bellas - as her song. And she had connected it to Chloe’s song. That had to mean something, right? _Was Beca trying to send her a message? Did she think of Chloe the same way that Chloe thought of her?_

Chloe whipped around to face Beca.

“Why did you pick “Titanium”?”

Beca’s entire body went rigid. So Chloe had noticed her song choice.  
  
“Well, um, I wanted everyone to pick a song that made them think of good memories with the group,” Beca explained as she set her cup down. “And that was the first one I thought of.”

“Because of our shower duet?” Chloe challenged, her blue eyes staring into Beca’s.

Beca felt her face heat up, feeling put on the spot by her friend. She took a deep breath. It was now or never, she realized.

“Look... I kind of really suck at this whole feelings thing, okay? But I like you, Chloe. A lot.”

Chloe blinked in surprise at Beca’s confession.

“You mean...?”

Beca nodded, knowing exactly what Chloe meant.

“Yeah. I do,” she said, running a hand through her hair. “And that’s why I put “Titanium” in the mix, because I didn’t know how else to tell you so I, uh... I decided to let the music talk for me.”

Chloe couldn’t help but smile a little. What a Beca thing to say.

“But that day we sang in the shower changed my life,” Beca continued, “and it took me a little while to understand why I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since then, but once I realized I was too scared to say anything because I didn’t want to ruin our friendship.”

Beca was rambling, her nerves all over the place. She looked down at the floor before she spoke up again.

“And it’s fine if you don’t feel the same - I’m totally cool with it! But I just had to tell you, Chlo, I had to let you know before it was too late -“

“Beca -“

“And even if you don’t feel that way I still want us to be friends, because you’re the closest friend I’ve ever had and -“

“ _Bec_ , listen to me.”

Chloe put a hand on Beca’s shoulder.

“I like you too,” Chloe said softly.

“Wait... really?”

In all honesty, Beca hadn’t been expecting that answer. Sure, there had been times when Chloe had acted somewhat flirtatiously around her, but she figured that was just Chloe being, well... Chloe. She’d had no idea that the redhead had actual feelings for her as well. _Wow, she sucked at reading people._

“Yeah,” Chloe said, smiling at Beca. “Really.”

While the song had changed again and the party was still going on around them, in that moment it felt as if everyone else in the room had faded away. Chloe leaned forward, her face only a few inches away from Beca’s. She could hear her heart pounding inside her chest as she realized what was about to happen. Sure enough Beca moved closer too, leaning in to close the gap between their lips. Suddenly she was kissing Chloe, and Chloe was kissing her back. Neither of them had ever imagined this moment they’d dreamed of would actually become a reality, but there they were, and it was happening. It was a soft but passionate kiss, filled with sweetness and a desperate longing.

Suddenly it occurred to Beca where they were. She pulled away from the kiss, eyes wide as she realized that anyone could have seen what had just happened between her and Chloe.

“Want to take this somewhere more private?” Chloe whispered suggestively into Beca’s ear. She nodded towards the staircase, and Beca got the hint.

The two of them quickly got up from the couch, Chloe taking Beca’s hand as she led her away from the rest of the Bellas. No one seemed to have noticed their sudden disappearance from the party. Once the two were upstairs, they found themselves in an empty bedroom. Realizing that the coast was clear and no one would see them, Beca closed the door, then surged forward to kiss Chloe again. Chloe responded by deepening the kiss, kissing Beca even more passionately than before. It wasn’t long until they had ended up on the bed, Chloe on top of Beca as they made out.

“Chloe... what are we doing?” Beca asked breathlessly in between kisses.

“I told you, one of my biggest regrets was not experimenting more in college,” Chloe answered. “And I’ve wanted to do this for a very long time.”

She winked at Beca.

“But what does it mean for us?”

“It means... whatever we want it to,” Chloe said with a shrug as she took her top off.

Beca seemed satisfied with that answer, taking her own top off and kissing Chloe again. They were lost in the bliss of the moment, neither of them wanting to think about anything beyond what was happening right then in that bedroom. Whether or not it turned into something more, at the very least they wouldn’t leave Barden with regret, wondering what could have happened between them if only they’d acted on their feelings.

* * *

 

Downstairs, the Bellas’ party was as lively as ever. Somehow a lively game of beer pong had started, the drunken singing group had expanded beyond just Stacie, and Lilly had reappeared. (Again, no one questioned it.)

“Hey Fat Amy!” Cynthia Rose called out, holding the ping pong ball up. “It’s your turn.”

“I’ll be right there!” Fat Amy called back. She was loading her plate up with even more snacks, taking full advantage of the spread that had been set out for them.

“Wait a second...” Fat Amy said slowly, looking around with a confused expression as she realized that two of the Bellas were no longer there. Come to think of it, she had hardly seen them all night.

“Where did Beca and Chloe go?”


End file.
